First, let’s set the scene. It’s near July 4 in 2005. I had a very vague plan in my head to introduce our grandkids to the city I grew up in, which I believed to be the center of the universe. LOL
Of course, I’m talkin’ about the Big Apple, City of New York. I thought about 10 years old would be a good age for their introduction. Kids remember stuff at that age. A couple years earlier, I told our eldest grandson, Josh, about my plan. He was only 9.
A pretty observant kid, he probably noticed I was struggling with some health issues, so he wanted to hedge his bet. He said something like, “Can’t we go this year? I think I’m ready “. It didn’t take much arm twisting. I was as anxious (maybe more) as he was.
So Josh got his first trip to New York with Ma and Granddaddy when he was only 9.
Two years passed. Our eldest granddaughter, Sydney was about 10. Another excuse for a New York trip.
Sydney lived near Savannah, with her wonderful parents, our son, Jim and daughter-in-law, Kiersten. And her younger sisters , Erin and Caroline.

That being said, I then planned a trip on Amtrak for Sydney, Josh, Marjorie and me from Savannah to NYC. Josh was available and really wanted to go, so he was an easy add.
Why Amtrak from Savannah and not Charleston? Amtrak’s Silver Meteor goes through both Savannah and Charleston on the way to NYC. That was one of my clever decisions that backfired. The idea was that we would get dinner on the train if we left from Savannah. Too late for dinner leaving Charleston. Problem is that Amtrak is notoriously late. It was three hours late to Savannah, so no dinner on the train. Great start to our adventure.
We had two sleeper compartments. Sydney and Grandmommy in one; Josh and me in another. A fun experience and ride. We departed Savannah at about 9pm.
We still had the opportunity to see the iconic monuments and buildings of Washington DC after breakfast the next morning.
At about 2 PM we arrived at Penn Station on 34th Street NYC. We grabbed a taxi and went to my cousin, Nancy’s co-op in Jackson Heights. She had graciously agreed to put us up for a few days over the 4th of July holiday. A very busy time.
Bear with me if I screw up the timing a bit, but I believe we freshened up and went for an early dinner at Pio Pio, a favorite Peruvian fried chicken eatery for Nancy, only a few blocks from Nancy’s co-op. It was excellent. A great culinary introduction for our Big City adventure.
After a good night’s sleep, we were off to a jam packed schedule of sight seeing early in the morning.
First, we pretty much stuck to Manhattan. That’s where most action is. For newcomers aka young folks, you gotta get high. Lol. You do that by going to the top of tall buildings. Empire State is tallest. GE building at Rockefeller Center is the most impressive.
Now for history. Head to Wall Street. See George Washington’s inaugural location, Alexander Hamilton’s burial site, and the former site of the World Trade Center; a truly eerie visit, still close to the 9/11 travesty.
Pretty sure we did the Staten Island Ferry. Round trip The price is sure right. Nada. Zero, free. Didn’t think we had time for a Statue of Liberty visit. After each full day of sightseeing, it was back to Jackson Heights for the night. Thank you, Nancy.
For entertainment, we saw two great shows. “in The Heights” and “The Fantastics” For eating, we enjoyed lots of ethnic food. ( It is New York after all).
I believe we visited one museum; saw Rockefeller Center, Central Park and its lovely zoo.
We probably did many other things I can’t recall over the 3-4day visit. I’m old, you see.
One of the mischievous pranks the Good Lord has played on many of us is that age can get in the way of long term plans. Sometimes mobility runs out before plans are completed. We do the best we can. Enuf.